World Peace through Language Appreciation

I was just randomly surfing the internet when I chanced upon the first video- When You Believe, sung in various languages. I first saw this video on television when I was really young and it left a deep impression in me. I never expected to see it again until just a few moments ago, I was touched all over again by the song. It’s just beautiful, how each line from a different language, piece up to form such a masterpiece. Each language has its own grammar, history, philosophy and story. It has been a recent trend to create these famous Disney songs into multilingual ones, and I just picked two of them and linked them up here. I see these songs as an analogy to the world we live in. It comprises of more than just one country, one culture, one language. No matter how much globalization has homogenized most of the ways we live our lives now, I strongly believe we should never give up our native cultures or languages. I am an idealistic person who believes in world peace, and mutual accomodation and understanding. Some say it’s too unrealistic, but I would say it is more pragmatic than trying to force your own ideals onto others.

I love languages. I appreciate every single aspect of every language, even if I don’t understand a single word of it. Like I said in the previous entry, I really dread the day when some languages just disappear because the native speakers were forced to, or have to, take up a different first language. That is one reason why I like learning languages. I started off just as an interest, but gradually I realized what I really like in it. I want to speak to a person in his or her native tongue. Even if I cannot express myself well enough in a certain language, I believe that is the first step towards mutual understanding. If you don’t bother to even listen to the person speak in his native tongue, you wouldn’t be expected to accept his culture or ideology.

Many young students in Quebec are opting to be educated in English instead of French. Indigenous Quechua people in Peru are demanding to be educated in Spanish, instead of Quechua. Young children of the Chinese race in Singapore have almost lost their abilities to speak the dialects of their ancestors, and are now in danger of even losing their Chinese abilities. Within the next few years, more languages will be endangered, and in the course, cultures will be lost. I believe promoting the preservation of their native languages (and cultures) will be a huge step towards resolving cross-border political problems and creating world peace. I don’t know what I can do as a 23 year old young man, but I do hope to contribute my part in delivering my beliefs to the world.

In the meantime, let’s just enjoy the “unfathomable” lyrics of these two songs

Just a random comment, I was surprised to see minor dialects such as Cantonese, and how they separate Latin American Spanish and Castellano, as well as Quebec French and French. Yet, they omit major languages such as Bahasa Indonesia and Hindi. Well, I guess there is a limit to creating lyrics for each language.